We have known for over 100 years that masks prevent the transmission of communicable diseases. It’s why you can watch those old movies from the 30s and doctors are wearing masks. They already knew that wearing a mask prevented wound infections.
There have been some speculations that coronavirus is different, but no real evidence (I’m gonna take that on in a minute). For coronavirus to be different than other viruses it would have to have a mechanism to get through masks differently than other viruses have. Viruses are simple structures, all of them. Small, a bit of genetic material, wrapped in a lipid coat. Typically, with spikes that can be recognized by receptors on cells. There is nothing there that would increase the passage through a mask. To get through a mask you’d need some kind of mechanical movement that allowed the virus to climb through the filter. Viruses are too simple for that. Even more complex bacteria lack such a mechanism.
Yesterday, Memorial Herman Hospital in Houston, Texas sent out an email. That hospital has a COVID ward. All identified coronavirus infected individuals go there. Nurses, doctors, and staff go in and out of that ward in order to treat their patients. To date, they have had zero transmissions of coronavirus to a staff member, zero. They aren’t in hazmat suits, they don’t take baths in sanitizer, they wear masks and they wear them correctly. I remind you, some of the COVID patients are intubated. No mask. Granted, they don’t breath much, but still.
We have scientific evidence that when both infected and non-infected folks wear masks that transmission of infectious respiratory diseases goes way down. Coronavirus shows nothing that would make one suspect it is any different, and we are seeing that masks are effective, in at least one sample case.
If you want to reopen the economy, the answer seems simple, mask up. Is it ideal? No. Is it effective? Yes. As time goes on we are likely to hear of more cases like that of Memorial Herman. And we are likely to hear that the hospital transmissions that happened, occurred due to a lack of proper equipment — can I say thank you Trump? I would appreciate it if Kossaks looked and paid attention to this topic. I’m curious to see what other information is out there.
I want to throw in a last paragraph. The secret isn’t just wearing a mask, it’s wearing it correctly. That doesn’t include. Moving it around because it’s uncomfortable. Pulling it down over your nose. Wearing it around your neck. And last, like any physical relationship, it requires two. Both folks in the relationship have to commit to the process.